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THF    COUTTTRY   CHURCH 


9      *      •      9 


Volume  3 


.01 

V.  3 


Federal  oouncil  of  the  churches  of  Christ  in 
America,  What  every  church  should  know  about 
its  community. 

General  Association  of  Congregational  Churches 
of  Massachusetts «  Advance  reports  of  various 
committees,  1908  and  1909 

McElfresh,  F.  The  country  Sunday  school 

MclTutt,  M.  B.  Modern  methods  in  the  country  church 

McUutt ,  M^  B,  A  post-graduate  school  with  a  purpose 

Massachusetts  Federation  of  Churches,  Quarterly 
"bulletin.  Facts  and  factors.  Octoher  1910 
'♦The  part  of  the  church  in  rural  i^rogress  as 
discussed  at  the  Amherst  Conference." 

Root,  E»  T.  State  federations 

Taf t ,  A.  B,  The  mistress  of  the  rural  manse 

Taf t ,  A.  B,  The  tent  mission 

Taylor,  G,  Basis  for  social  evangelism  with  rural 
applications 

Wells,  G«  F»  An  answer  to  the  ITew  England  country 
church  question. 

Wells,  G-  F.  V/hat  our  country  churches  need 

Wilson,  W.  H»  The  church  and  the  transient 

Wilson,  W.  H*  Conservation  of  boys 

Wilson,  W.  H.  The  country  church 

Wilson,  W.  H.  The  country  church  program 

Wilson,  W,  H.  Don't  breathe  on  the  thermometer 

Wilson,  W,  H.  The  farmers'  church  and  the  farmers* 
12  college 

t—i 

CO    Wilson,  W.  IT.  Getting  the  worker  to  church 
til 


Wilson,  W,  H»  The  giri  on  the  farm 

Wilson,  VI »   H*  How  to  manage  a  country  life 
institute 

Wilson,  W.  II,  "Marrying  the  land." 

Wilson,  W.  H.  ITo  need  to  "be  poor  in  the  country 

Wilson,  W.  H.  Synod's  oi)portunity 

Wilson.  W«  H«  What  limits  the  rural  Evangel 


94S94394 


The  church,  and  country  life.  Pamphlet  issued 
hy  the  Board  of  Home  Missions  of  the  Presby- 
terian Church. 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 

in  2011  with  funding  from 

Boston  Library  Consortium  IVIember  Libraries 


http://www.archive.org/details/postgraduatescho03mcnu 


^llllllllllliC3llllimilllC]illlimilllC3IIIIIIIIIIIIC3llllllllllirC3IIIIIIIIIIIIC3lllillllllllC3lillllllllllC3llllllllilllC^ 

j  A  Post-Graduate  School  j 
I         With  A  Purpose         I 

I  By  Matthew   B.   McNutt  | 

^lltillllllllC3lillllllllllC3lllllllillllC3llllllllllllC3illlllllllllC3IIIIIIIIIIIIC3IIIIIIIIIIIIC3lllllilllillC3lllllililHIC^ 

THE  country  parson  seldom  meets  a  fellow  pastor.  He  has 
few  opportunities  to  hear  any  one  speak  but  himself. 
His  own  library  is  scanty  and  he  often  has  access  to  no 
other.  Travel  is  out  of  the  question  for  him.  It  is  little  wonder, 
therefore,  that  his  sermonic  material  and  inspiration  run  low, 
thus,  to  be  ever  giving  out  to  others  and  with  such  limited  means 
of  getting  spiritual  and  intellectual  food  for  himself.  City  pas- 
tors are  away,  from  one  to  three  months  in  the  year,  filling  up  and 
fortifying  themselves  for  the  next  year's  work.  Farmers  have 
their  short  courses  in  the  Agricultural  colleges.  They  have  their 
County  Institutes,  and  their  various  fairs  and  expositions.  Farm- 
demonstration  trains  are  sent  out  through  many  States  by  means 
of  which  farmers  have  opportunity  to  hear  experts  in  Agriculture, 
Horticulture,  and  Animal  Husbandry  and  to  see  what  can  be 
done  by  scientific  methods.  If  city  pastors  and  farmers  need 
such  helps  it  is  even  more  necessary  for  the  farmers'  preachers  to 
have  similar  opportunities  for  becoming  better  and  more  efficient 
leaders  and  pastors. 

The  Post-graduate  Schools  for  Rural  Ministers,  such  as  have 
been  held  the  last  three  years  with  co-operation  of  the  Depart- 
ment of  Church  and  Country  Life  of  the  Presbyterian  Church, 
U.  S.  A.,  under  the  direction  of  its  Superintendent,  Dr.  Warren 
H.  Wilson,  solve  the  problem.  The  teachers  give  the  needed 
help  and  inspiration.  Their  courses  satisfy  that  long-felt  heart 
and  soul  and  mind-hunger  among  country  preachers,  which  none 
know  anything  about  except  those  who  have  served  in  country 
churches. 

A  Manifold  Purpose 

These  Post-graduate  Schools,  lasting  about  three  weeks,  serve 
a  manifold  purpose. 

(i)  Instruction.  The  Post-graduate  School  is  designed  to 
give  up-to-date  instruction  in  the  English  Bible,  Rural  Sociology, 
Religious  Education,  Farm  Economics,  Farm  Co-operation, 
Country  Church  Administration  and  in  other  subjects  related  to 
the  welfare  of  country  people. 


The  lecturers  and  teachers  are  scholars,  not  amateurs,  in 
the  subjects  they  teach.  They  speak  out  of  actual  experience 
and  thorough  study  of  their  respective  subjects.  The  instruc- 
tion given,  therefore,  is  not  only  authoritative  but  it  is  of  the 
practical  kind  that  every  rural  minister  can  take  home  with  him 
and  put  into  operation  on  his  own  field,  with  such  modifications, 
of  course,  as  may  be  necessary  to  fit  local  conditions. 

Then  the]  discipline  of  this  class-room  instruction,  for  a  man 
who  has  been  out  of  college  and  seminary  for  a  long  time  is 
highly  beneficial.  Country  ministers  are  apt  to  become  lax  in 
their  methods  of  study.  They  need  the  stimulus  that  comes 
from  measuring  up  with  others  in  class-room  work. 

(2)  Perspective.  No  minister  can  do  his  best  work,  or  even 
good  work,  who  does  not  sometimes  get  away  from  his  parish, 
that  he  may  see  it  from  a  distance  and  give  the  elements  a  chance 
to  assume  their  normal  proportions.  A  minister  above  all  other 
servants  needs  a  clear  head  and  to  keep  a  perfect  balance  of  mind 
and  temper  that  he  may  interpret  life  rightly  to  others.  There 
is  nothing  like  a  look  through  the  eyes  of  a  school  such  as  this, 
for  enabling  men  in  rural  parishes  to  see  things  in  their  right 
relations. 

(3)  Fellowship.  Those  engaged  in  the  same  occupation  or 
profession  like  to  get  together  occasionally.  In  fact,  this  per- 
sonal contact  with  men  of  the  same  profession  is  necessary  to  the 
highest  efficiency.  A  peculiar  strength  comes  through  it  that  is 
plainly  felt  but  can  hardly  be  described.  The  rural  pastor 
craves  fellowship  with  men  of  his  profession  but  has  little  chance 
to  enjoy  this  boon  throughout  the  whole  year.  The  Post- 
graduate School  affords  this  opportunity. 

(4)  Team  Work.  Rural  pastors  as  individuals  may  be  doing 
excellent  work  in  their  respective  fields.  But  the  game  of 
building  up  the  country  church  and  the  country  community  is 
weak  and  ragged,  as  a  whole.  The  ground  is  not  covered.  The 
work  is  not  properly  connected.  The  players  do  not  know  each 
other.  There  is  no  better  place  for  country  preachers  to  get 
acquainted  with  each  other  and  with  the  principles  and  methods 
of  successful  country  church  work  than  in  the  Post-graduate 
School  where  they  can  rub  elbows  in  the  class  room,  break  bread 
together,  or  cross  bats  on  the  baseball  diamond. 

(5)  Clearing  House.  The  rural  ministers  who  attend  these 
Post-graduate  Schools  come  with  a  fund  of  valuable  information 
pertaining  to  the  rural  church  and  rural  life.  They  have  a  great 
variety  of  experiences  and  methods  of  work,  some  successful 
some  unsuccessful.  Every  man  is  bubbling  over  with  something 
to  tell  and  more  to  ask.  Sometimes  the  lecturer  can  hardly 
proceed,  for  the  questions  which  the  ministers  want  to  ask  and 
for  the  instances  and  experiences  they  have  to  relate.     Oppor- 


tunity  is  given  in  the  classes,  of  course,  for  discussion  and  for  a 
free  interchange  of  ideas,  methods  and  information,  all  of  which 
is  most  profitable.  Then  the  men  have  opportunity  to  talk  face 
to  face  with  each  other  in  their  rooms,  or  as  they  walk  or  eat 
together.  The  school  thus  becomes  a  clearing  house  for  methods, 
ideas,  facts,  and  experiences  bearing  upon  the  church  and 
country  life. 

(6)  Vision.  "Where  there  is  no  vision  the  people  perish." 
Much  less  can  they  grow  without  vision.  A  country  preacher 
constantly  working  alone  is  apt  to  reach  the  limit  of  his  ability. 
He  sees  no  further  possibilities  in  his  church  and  community 
and  in  himself.  He  begins  to  feel  that  his  work  is  done  in  that 
place  and  is  tempted  to  get  out  and  turn  it  over  to  another.  He 
is  not  especially  discouraged,  but  he  just  comes  to  the  con- 
clusion that  he  has  "reached  the  end  of  his  rope."  What  he 
needs  is  a  new  vision.  He  gets  it  by  viewing  his  work  in  the 
light  of  what  other  country  pastors  are  doing.  He  sees  it  at 
many  new  angles.  His  imagination  has  new  materials  upon 
which  to  play.  He  returns  to  his  church  from  the  Post-graduate 
School  full  of  new  and  bigger  plans  for  his  people,  possibilities 
of  which  he  had  never  before  dreamed. 

(7)  Inspiration.  The  Post-graduate  Schools  are  a  source  of 
inspiration  to  rural  ministers.  They  are  real  mountain-top 
experiences.  The  new  and  strong  expositions  of  the  Scriptures, 
the  devotional  meetings,  the  fellowship,  the  instruction,  the 
discussions,  and  the  new  outlook  upon  the  work  all  tend  to 
revive  the  spirits  of  men.  The  very  atmosphere  is  laden  with 
stimulating  influences.  To  breathe  in  it  is  to  feel  like  pushing 
out  into  bigger  undertakings  and  more  vigorous  service  for  the 
Kingdom. 

It  is  well  worth  going  a  long  journey  to  meet  and  hear  Dr. 
Warren  H.  Wilson,  the  head  of  the  Department  of  Church  and 
Country  Life,  who  lectures  at  nearly  all  of  these  schools.  No 
rural  minister  who  hears  this  champion  of  the  country  church 
and  of  the  country  people  fails  to  realize  that  a  more  abundant 
life  is  coming  to  the  tillers  of  the  soil.  There  is  something 
about  Dr.  Wilson's  enthusiasm  and  victory-achieving  spirit 
that  is  contagious.  He  thrills  his  hearers.  He  is  full  of  his 
subject  and  he  speaks  with  conviction. 

(8)  Rest  and  Recreation.  They  give  rural  pastors  the 
needed  rest  and  recreation.  People  grow  weary  ever  doing  the 
same  things  and  continually  looking  at  the  same  faces  and  ob- 
jects, no  matter  how  much  they  enjoy  their  work  or  love  their 
companions  and  associates.  Rural  ministers  are  no  exception 
to  the  rule.  A  change  of  work  and  of  scenery  and  coming  in 
touch  with  different  people,  even  for  a  short  two  weeks,  is 
restful  and  invigorating. 


(9)  Efficiency.  The  ultimate  Purpose  of  the  Post-graduate 
School  is  to  help  the  men  to  efficiency.  This  age  requires  work 
done  well.  The  great  business  concerns  are  more  and  more 
exacting  in  the  administration  of  their  affairs,  and  in  the  quality 
of  the  service  rendered  by  their  employees.  They  are  ex- 
pending large  sums  of  money  to  secure  efficiency.  It  is  good 
business.  Men  everywhere  are  becoming  less  and  less  tolerant 
of  inefficiency.  If  the  rural  church  is  to  hold  her  own  she  must 
do  her  work  well.  She  must  be  efficient.  The  time  is  past 
when  people  will  bear  with  loose,  slip-shod  service  in  the  church 
just  because  it  is  the  church.  Efficiency  is  demanded  here  the 
same  as  everywhere  else. 

It  ought  not  to  be  true  that  "the  children  of  the  world  are 
wiser  in  their  generation  than  the  children  of  light."  The 
church  should  lead  the  world  in  doing  her  work  in  the  best 
possible  way. 

In  the  summer  of  1913  the  Department  of  Church  and  Coun- 
try Life  will  co-operate  by  special  arrangement  with  the  follow- 
ing Summer  Schools,  on  the  dates  named: 

The  Summer  School  of  the  South,  at  the  University  of  Ten- 
nessee, Knoxville,  June  24-July  15. 

The  Summer  School  of  Theology,  at  Auburn  Theological 
Seminary,  Auburn,  N.  Y.,  July  7-19. 

The  Summer  School  at  the  State  College  of  Agriculture, 
Ames,  Iowa,  July  7-19. 

The  Summer  School  of  Coe  College,  Cedar  Rapids,  Iowa, 
July  20-25. 

The  Summer  School  of  the  University  of  Missouri,  Columbia, 
Mo.,  July  23-Aug.  7. 

Estes  Park  Summer  Schools  of  the  Young  Men's  Christian 
Associations,  Estes  Park,  Colo.,  July  23-Aug.  7. 

Summer  School  of  Alma  College,  Alma,  Mich. 

In  addition  the  Department  will  be  represented  at  the 
following  summer  conferences  and  institutes  by  a  speaker  on 
the  Country  Church  and  Community: 

Student  Conference,  Y.  W.  C.  A.,  Eagles  Mere,  Pa.,  July 
24-Aug.  3. 

Silver  Bay  Conference,  Missionary  Education  Movement, 
July  1 1-2 1. 

Rock  River  Assembly,  Dixon,  111.,  July  28-August  3. 

Summer  Conference,  Westminister,  Md.,  Aug.  4-8. 

Summer  Assembly,   HoUister,  Mo.,  Aug.  5-17. 

University  of  West  Virginia  Summer  School,  Morgantown, 
W.  Va.,  July  7-18. 

DEPARTMENT  OF  CHURCH  AND  COUNTRY  LIFE,  THE  BOARD  OF  HOME 

MISSIONS  OF  THE  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH  IN  THE  U.  S.  A., 

156  Fifth  Avenue,  New  York 


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